NY Mayor Honors Hip-Hop

2016 is marking an honorable year for hip-hop. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has just signed a bill to rename 42 streets throughout the city in honor of this great genre. Well known as the birthplace of hip-hop, New York is deeply entrenched in the culture. This is where legends such as Afrika Bambaataa, LL Cool J, Run DMC, KRS-One, and DJ Kool Herc shaped an art form which would not only dominate the music industry, but come to change lives and reshape the face of American pop culture.  It was all a dream, it started as a simple back to school party on the corner of Sedgewick and Cedar Ave. DJ Kool Herc hosted this fabled event and the rest is history.

Now from “The Bridge is Over” to the “South Bronx, South South Bronx” we can take a walk to Brooklyn for a cheesecake and listen to the latest 50 Cent beef track blare in our headphones. All while watching, in real time, the story of the streets unfold.

Next time you take a trip to the city that never sleeps make sure you check out the Bronx, and keep an eye out for Hip Hop Boulevard, listen for the beat, and remember those words from Lauren Hill, “It started out in the heart.”
–Robert Vickens